Linking 2D and 3D

The Mapping window and the 3D View window show the same project from two sides. The real fixtures live in the mapping: they have addresses and universes, they are patched into ports, composition effects are calculated for them, and they send out the Art-Net signal. In 3D there are objects that represent the real structure: splines along the edges of a facade, fixtures on a truss, an imported model, set decoration. On their own, 3D objects don't light up — each one takes its color from the mapping fixture it's linked to.

The link is assigned manually in the Properties window, or created automatically when fixtures are transferred between 2D and 3D with the magic buttons. It doesn't affect the signal — this is only a preview. A fixture not linked to any 3D object works as usual — you just won't see it in the 3D scene.

What Passes Through the Link

The link is one-directional: mapping leads, 3D follows. The object's shape and position in the scene are up to itself.

Comes from mapping	Stays with the 3D object
Color and brightness of each pixel — whatever the current composition's effects calculate	Position, rotation, and scale in the scene
Number of fixtures on the spline and how they're distributed	Spline shape: its points, Closed, Smooth
Fixture address and type — shown in the columns of the 3D Objects window	Pixel dimensions: Pixel Width, Pixel Height, Pixel Length
Beam type — Pixel, Spot, or Linear — and its Length, Angle, Depth	Fixture order along the spline: Reverse, Snake Mode
Visibility: turn off a fixture in the Fixtures window — the linked object disappears in 3D too	Visibility of the object itself, a separate checkbox in the 3D Objects list

This gives the main rule: to make a fixture light up in the right place in 3D, you don't need to move it in the mapping. What matters in the mapping is fixture addresses and pixel order; where the fixture actually stands is set by the 3D object.

How to Tell Whether a Link Exists

The fastest way is through the 3D Objects window. A linked object has its Mapping, Address, and Fixtures columns filled in; an empty Mapping column for a fixture or spline means there's no link and it won't light up.

It's also visible right in the scene:

a single 3D fixture without a link is called No Fixture and doesn't light up;
an unlinked spline is drawn as a gray line with no pixels on it (white when selected). It's only shown when helper objects are enabled — menu View → 3D View → 3D Helper Objects, key F4. If splines in the scene suddenly "disappear," check this checkbox and the link first;
for a cloner, the Fixture Name line in Properties shows the range: which fixture it starts with and which it ends with.

Linking an Object to a Fixture

Select the object in the scene or its row in the 3D Objects window and open the Properties window — a Fixture section will appear there.

Button	What it does
Select	Opens the Select Fixture window with a list of all fixtures and splines in the project.
Previous and Next (rows Left and Right)	Shift the link to a neighboring fixture in the Fixtures window list. Handy when an object is linked to the wrong fixture and the right one is nearby: no need to open the list.
Clear	Removes the link. Applies to all selected objects at once.
Go to Fixture	Selects the linked fixture in the Fixtures window and in the mapping, and shows its properties.

The Select Fixture window is a simple single-column list, Name. Clicking the column header sorts it alphabetically.

Select the 3D object you're assigning a fixture to.
Click Select in the Fixture section.
Click the row you need — the link is assigned instantly, the object in the scene starts lighting up right away, and you see the result without closing the window. Made a mistake — click another row.
Press OK or Enter to close the window. Esc also closes it, but doesn't undo a link already assigned — for that, use Ctrl+Z.

A single 3D fixture can only be assigned a single mapping fixture: clicking a spline row does nothing. A 3D spline can be assigned either a spline or a single fixture — in the latter case, a single pixel lights up at the start of the spline.

The "Auto" Button

The Auto button in the same window links the selected 3D objects to fixtures whose names match the objects' names. There's no need to pick a row in the list — just select the objects in the scene and click Auto.

This is how a whole model gets linked in one go. If the structure was prepared in a 3D editor and the fixtures in it are named the same way as in the mapping, then after importing it's enough to select everything and click Auto — instead of assigning the link to each object by hand.

The Case Sensitive checkbox sets whether Line001 and line001 are treated as different names. By default case is ignored, and it's usually best left that way. The setting is remembered between program launches.

Objects for which no name match was found simply get no link — you can spot them by an empty Mapping column in the 3D Objects window.

Several Objects at Once

If several 3D objects are selected, assignment goes in a chain: the first one gets the fixture whose row you clicked, the second gets the next one in the Fixtures window list, the third gets the one after that, and so on.

This is the fastest way to spread links across a row of identical objects. Set the fixture order in the Fixtures window the way you need beforehand, by dragging rows within the port — then one click links the whole row.

The Clear button likewise removes the link from all selected objects at once.

Transferring Fixtures Between 2D and 3D

When you need a lot of links, you don't assign them by hand: fixtures are transferred from one window to the other, and the link is created automatically. Both buttons are at the start of the 3D View window's toolbar (see 3D Toolbar).

Magic 3D Button: Transfers fixtures from the mapping into 3D. The Magic Settings window sets the Width and Height of the rectangle in which the fixtures are laid out as a flat "wall" repeating their arrangement in the mapping. After that, the objects are positioned in the scene by hand. Fixtures that already have a 3D counterpart aren't transferred again.

Magic 2D Button

The reverse action — transfers objects from 3D to the mapping. Used when the structure arrived as a ready-made model and the mapping is still empty. The Magic Settings window sets:

Select Camera — which view to look at the scene from. Fixtures will land on the mapping the way they're seen from this camera, so pick an angle where the side you need is fully visible and fixtures don't block each other. When you pick a camera from the list, the view in the window switches to it right away, so you can see exactly what will be transferred. If left at None, fixtures aren't projected and are simply laid out in an even row.
Transfer Objects — All Objects, Visible Objects, or Selected Objects.

The OK button creates fixtures on the mapping and immediately links them to the source objects. Fixtures already transferred before aren't transferred again, so the window can be opened as many times as needed as new objects appear in the scene.

After the transfer, the fixtures on the mapping still need to be patched and, if needed, have their type changed in the fixture library — this won't break the link.

Fixture Order Along a Spline

On a spline, what matters isn't just which fixture is linked to it, but also which end the pixel count starts from. If the animation runs the wrong way in 3D, this is fixed in the Fixture section of the Properties window.

Reverse: Flips the fixture order along the spline: the first pixel becomes the last. Applies to all selected splines, so a whole row of bars is flipped with one click.

Snake Mode: Available on a cloner. Each next repeat goes in the opposite direction — this is how garlands and screens are built where the strip is laid out in a snake pattern.

A cloner is linked to the first fixture in the row: Select in its properties assigns the starting fixture, and each following repeat automatically takes the next fixture from the Fixtures window list. The Fixture Name line shows the resulting range.

The Auto Follow checkbox in the Duplicate tool works similarly: each new copy is linked to the next fixture instead of repeating the same one.

The Reverse Path: From Fixture to 3D

The link can be read from the other side too. Select a fixture in the Fixtures window or in the mapping, and in the Properties window click Go to 3D Fixture — the program will select the linked object in the scene and show its parameters. If several objects are linked to the fixture, a menu with a list will appear: pick the one you need. The button is unavailable if nothing in 3D is linked to this fixture.

Another way to find a fixture is the Highlight Fixtures and DMX Data button on the Mapping window's toolbar. The selected fixtures start blinking simultaneously in the mapping, in 3D, and on the real object, so the correspondence is visible in all three places at once. Right-clicking this button opens a choice of highlight mode and interval.

What Happens to the Link When the Project Changes

Deleted a fixture in the mapping. The 3D object stays in the scene but loses its link and stops lighting up. Undoing with Ctrl+Z restores both the fixture and the link.
Deleted an object in 3D. Nothing changes in the mapping: the fixture, its addresses, and its effects stay in place.
Copied an object in 3D (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V or Ctrl+D). The copy stays linked to the same fixture and lights up exactly like the original. To give copies a life of their own, assign each one its own fixture using the Select or Next buttons.
Changed the fixture type in the fixture library. The link is preserved, and the 3D object picks up the new beam type and its dimensions.
Changed the number of fixtures on a spline in the mapping. Pixels in 3D are automatically recalculated along the whole length of the spline.
Turned off a fixture's visibility in the Fixtures window. The linked object disappears in 3D too.
Renamed a single 3D fixture. The linked fixture in the mapping gets the same name: single fixtures share a common name.

If an Object in 3D Doesn't Light Up

Check in order:

Is there a link: the Mapping column in the 3D Objects window shouldn't be empty, and a single fixture shouldn't be named No Fixture.
Is visibility turned on — both for the object itself in the 3D Objects list and for the linked fixture in the Fixtures window.
Is anything playing on this fixture: does it fall within a layout that has an effect on it, and hasn't the effect on the timeline already ended by the current moment.
Has the fixture ended up outside the boundaries of the mapping's working area.
Are several objects linked to the same fixture: then they light up identically, and it's easy to conclude that part of the scene isn't working.

If you can't find the object in the scene, select its row in the 3D Objects window and press Z — the camera will frame it in the window.